Custom default messages for invoices and estimates
Go to Settings > Message Templates and write the email and text message WorkZen should use for each document. The email fills the Message box in the send window, where you can still edit it before sending. The text is sent as-is with the link to the document. Placeholders such as {client_name}, {number} and {total} are filled in for each send. Each template starts with the built-in message, Reset to default brings it back, and Preview shows the email or text exactly as your client receives it.
Every invoice, estimate, receipt and job report goes out with a short message. The built-in one is polite and generic. Message Templates lets you replace it with your own words once, so nobody on the team retypes "Please find attached..." fifty times a week.
Where to set them
Go to Settings > Message Templates. The page needs ZenGrow or higher. On the left is the list of templates, grouped by the moment the message goes out; type in Find a template to narrow it down. Click one to open it on the right. Under its name, the editor says how it is used: Pre-filled, editable before each send (you still see and can change the message in the send window) or Sent automatically (it goes out as written, nobody reviews it first).
| Group | Templates | When |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices, estimates and receipts | Invoice email, Estimate email, Receipt email, Invoice text, Estimate text, Receipt text | When you send a document. The emails pre-fill the send window; the texts are sent as written and always include the link. |
| Estimate follow-ups | Deposit due email, Estimate extended email, Estimate extended text | Sent automatically when a client approves an estimate that needs a deposit, and when you grant an extension. |
| Jobs and visits | Job report email, Job completed email, On my way email, On my way text | When you send a job report, complete a job, or a technician taps On my way. |
| Booking requests | Booking confirmed email, Booking declined email, Booking confirmed text, Booking declined text | Pre-filled when you confirm or decline a booking request. |
| Client portal | Client portal sign-in email | Sent automatically with a client's portal sign-in link. |
For the emails WorkZen sends automatically (deposit due, estimate extended, On my way, client portal), your text replaces the opening paragraph. The rest of the email stays as it is: the details box, the buttons, your contact details, and for the portal email the sign-in button and the notice that the link expires.
Each template starts with the built-in message WorkZen sends today. Change the text and the template shows Edited in the list; Reset to default at the top of the editor puts the built-in message back. A template you leave unchanged keeps using the built-in message. You can change several templates and save them together with Save changes at the bottom of the page.
For an email, the editor also shows its Subject for reference. The subject is set by WorkZen and cannot be changed.
Preview
Click Preview at the top of the editor to see the message exactly as your client receives it, filled with sample data. An email shows in full: subject, heading, your message, the details box, the button and the sign-off. A text shows on a phone, as sent, with the link at the end. Preview uses what is in the editor, so you can check a change before you save it. Click Edit to go back.
Placeholders
A placeholder is a word in curly braces that WorkZen fills in for each send. In the Message box it shows as a small tag. Under the box, click a placeholder after Insert: to add it where your cursor is, or type it in braces yourself ({total}) and it turns into a tag. Drag a tag to move it, or drag one from the Insert: row straight into place; a line shows where it will land. Backspace removes a tag in one go.
If a placeholder is misspelled, not closed ({client_name without the }), or not available in that message, it stays plain text, the box turns red and says why, and the page will not save until it is fixed. The placeholders each message supports:
| Placeholder | Fills in |
|---|---|
{client_name} | Who the message greets: the first name, or the company name for a business client. Every built-in message opens with "Hi {client_name}," |
{number} | The invoice, estimate, receipt or job report number |
{total} | The amount, formatted in your currency |
{due_date} | The invoice due date |
{valid_until} | The estimate expiry date |
{invoice_number} | On a receipt, the invoice it pays |
{payment_date} | On a receipt, the date the payment was received |
{company_name} | Your company name |
{link} | Document texts only: the link to the document |
{label} | Document texts only: the kind of document (Invoice, Estimate, Receipt) |
{date}, {time} | Booking texts: the requested appointment date and time |
{company_phone} | Booking texts: your company phone number |
{tech_name} | On my way: the technician's first name |
{address} | On my way: the visit address |
{title} | Job completed email: the job title |
{deposit} | Deposit due email: the deposit amount |
{tracking_url} | On my way: the client's live tracking link. Empty when Customer arrival tracking is off in Settings > Jobs |
A placeholder with nothing to fill stays as typed in the send window, so you can spot it and fix it before sending. The texts and emails WorkZen sends on its own (On my way, document texts, estimate extended, deposit due, client portal) never show one: an empty placeholder is simply left out. Invoices always have a due date, so {due_date} always fills in. {valid_until} stays empty on an estimate with no expiry, so keep it out of a template you use for those.
Example
An invoice email:
Hi {client_name}, Invoice {number} for {total} is ready. Payment is due by {due_date}. Thanks for choosing {company_name}!An invoice text:
{company_name}: invoice {number} ({total}) is ready. Pay online: {link}Keep texts short. A text is capped at 320 characters, and the link takes about 25 of them.
Good to know
- Templates are written in one language. Write them in the language your clients read.
- If your plan changes to Zen, your templates are kept but stop applying until you upgrade again.
- The subject line and the layout of the email are not part of the template. Only the message text is yours, and Preview shows the rest around it.
Frequently Asked Questions
This article answers:
- How do I change the default email when I send an invoice?
- Can I customize the text message sent with an estimate?
- How do I add the client's name to the invoice email automatically?
- Where do I set the default message for receipts?